Loree Griffin Burns' amazing book, Tracking Trash, is one of my favorite reads of the year. Everyone - regardless of age - who has looked at this book has blown away by the environmental story it tells and the images it shares. I first reviewed the book as a "Cool Read" in my column a few months ago and then was able to interview Loree as part of the WBBT. Here are her thoughts on how writing the book changed her:

To be honest, the environmental part of this story snuck up on me. I was still very focused on the science of ocean currents the first time I interviewed Curt. At some point during that interview I asked him how many containers fall off of cargo ships each year, and his answer shocked me: between one thousand and ten thousand. Ten thousand! That was the moment I began to wonder how much trash was actually in the ocean, and the direction of my research changed dramatically.

Tracking Trash is a perfect example of the value of nonfiction books for children - it's smartly written, beautifully designed and compelling from start to finish. This is "change your life" reading. No one - no one - can read this book without thinking about the oceans and marine wildlife for a long time afterwards. Because of Loree's book, I have gone on to read and review several other titles in the same "Scientists in the Field" series. I am mightily impressed with what Houghton Mifflin is doing with these books and delighted with each and everyone of them. But Tracking Trash carries a special place in my heart. It's a dazzler and I can't wait to see what Loree does next. Now on to her favorite reads this year.

Loree’s Top Ten of 2007

Because I still wonder about it:
THE PULL OF THE OCEAN
By Jean-Claude Mourlevat
Translated from the French by Y. Maudet
Delacorte Press, 1999
Read more about it at Loree's site.

Because it is fun to go back in time:
A WRINKLE IN TIME
By Madeleine L’Engle
Dell Yearling, 1962
Read more about it at Loree's site.

Because it is perfect for reading out loud:
HOW TO EAT FRIED WORMS
by Thomas Rockwell
Illustrated by Emily McCully
Dell, 1973
Read more about it at Loree's site.

Because it broke my heart:
BEFORE I DIE
By Jenny Downham
David Fickling Books, 2007
Read about it at Loree's site.

Because I was there for its birth (and am oh-so-proud):
BIG SLICK
By Eric Luper
FSG, 2007
Read about it at Loree's site.

Because she is a hero:
UP CLOSE: RACHEL CARSON
By Ellen Levine
Viking, 2007
Read about it at Loree's site.

Because he makes so much sense:
THE CREATION, AN APPEAL TO SAVE LIFE ON EARTH
By E.O. Wilson
W.W. Norton & Company, 2007
Read about it Read about it at Loree's site.

Because it will forever remind me of Nana:
THE TENTH GOOD THING ABOUT BARNEY
By Judith Viorst
Illustrated by Erik Blegvad
Aladdin Paperbacks, 1971
Read about it at Loree's site.

Because it as fun to read as it is to say:
CHICKY CHICKY CHOOK CHOOK
By Cathy MacLennan
Boxer Books, 2007
More at Loree's site.

Because if you buy five copies of a book (one for every toddler on your shopping list), said book must be on your BEST list:
WHO’S HIDING?
By Satoru Onishi
Kane/Miller, 2006
More at Loree's site.

Check out the PW review of The Pull of the Ocean:

"A mute 10-year-old boy stars in this inventive modern-day play on Charles Perrault's Tom Thumb. Yann, the size of a toddler, is the youngest of seven sons of poor, sour parents and the only one who is not a twin ('Yann came last and alone. Like the period at the end of a sentence'). The lad silently communicates with his brothers, but never with his parents. One night, he overhears his parents bickering and awakens his siblings, letting them know that their father plans to harm them (the author reveals the actual content of the couple's conversation later). Yann then leads the three sets of twins out into the rainy darkness. The peripatetic story weaves together first-person accounts by each twin as well as individuals who have spotted or interacted with the children. Under Yann's direction (he navigates by turning his head in all directions and then pointing the way), the brothers traverse the French countryside, heading west toward the ocean. The story takes a dark turn before they are reunited with their seemingly softened parents. Yet Yann slips away once more, stowing away on a merchant marine ship to continue his journey west. The captain observes, 'I had the sudden impression that this child wasn't real, that he had stepped right out of a fairy tale.' Indeed, Mourlevat enchantingly blends the harshly real and the make-believe, with the latter tipping the balance as this effectively haunting, fluidly translated tale comes to a close. Ages 12-up."

I am so getting this book asap. It sounds amazing. As for A Wrinkle in Time, well that was one of those books that changed everything for me, and I'll always adore Meg Murray. For adults looking for an excellent (and relatively compact) biography of Rachel Carson, I heartily recommend The Gentle Subversive, a book I raved about last summer.

Lots of folks are going dark next week but I will be here daily with more book recommendations from tons of readers. Still coming up: Matt Ruff, Nick Abadzis, Nicola Griffith, Kelley Eskridge, Liz Noland, Kris Reisz, David Mack, Margo Rabb, Cherie Priest and Danica Novgorodoff, from First Second Books. Check back tomorrow for Cherie's list!